Friday, March 23, 2012

An Ode to the Redbud

Our Redbud Trees in North Carolina are in full bloom right now.  It seems as if, overnight, they just burst into glorious color.  Many people have them planted in their yards, but they also grow wild in the woods (along with the Dogwood Trees).  And this time of year, you can see the Redbuds blooming all along the highways and interstates of our region, announcing that spring is here.

I've always thought that Redbud is entirely the wrong name for these trees, for their blooms aren't red, but a wonderful, purplish-pink color.  For as long as I can remember, they have been one of my favorite trees.  They are typically quite hardy, and when they get larger, they provide a wonderful shade in summer with a canopy of heart-shaped leaves.

Redbuds are also known as Judas Trees, although I don't hear them called that very often.  According to the website About.com.Forestry, our native North American redbud is the Cercis canadensis, and "the specific redbud that is most often labeled Judas Tree is Cercis siliquastrum, and lives in Mediterranean and Asia Minor countries.  That tree is the one most associated as "Judea's Tree" and is supposedly the tree Judas Iscariot hanged himself on after betraying Christ."

My North Carolina gardening book states that Redbuds are short-lived trees.  But in this case, I would beg to differ.  This old, and rather gnarled Redbud Tree in our front yard has been here since we moved in 16 years ago, and it was a mature tree at that time.  Since our house is 40 years old, I would bet the tree is at least that old.  In addition, it survived damage from a serious tornado that hit ours and surrounding neighborhoods in 1999.  You can see in the pictures where some of the big limbs were broken, and its shape is not the prettiest.  Yet there is something dignified in the way this tree continues to stand as sentinel at the top of our driveway.  It blooms every year like clockwork, and I'm quite attached to it after all these years.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday afternoon when the sky was partly overcast.

     



You can see the stunted shape of some of the limbs in the picture below.


The front of our house gets the bright morning sun, and since it wasn't foggy this morning, I zipped outside with my camera to try and get some more pictures of the tree.  I then noticed that my next-door neighbor's younger and smaller Redbud was blooming, and the sun was shining directly on it.



I just love those tiny pink blooms against the backdrop of a blue, blue sky.



Now for some close-ups...









Do you have Redbud Trees in your part of the world?  If so, are they blooming now?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and taking time to leave a comment.  I always enjoy reading them.  :)  I hope you have a great weekend -- ours is predicted to be rainy.



Denise

16 comments:

  1. The trees are gorgeous, and great photos. They look like cherry trees. xo

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  2. Yours is magnificent. My neighbors have a large on in their backyard and my patio door faces that part of their yard. I sit here every year and marvel at its beauty. I hope they never cut it.

    its just starting to bud since we've had some good rains so I expect it will look a lot like yours within the next 2 weeks.

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  3. We do and last fall we had intentions of owning some, but the owner of our very favorite greenhouse got sick and had surgery and we cancelled on him a few times then winter hit and we just scrapped it..............we just discussed buying them again yesterday and here is your post.

    OK this time next year I hope to show my Red Bud blooming, thank you - just what I needed to make that call to our guy Larry very soon.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. So THAT'S what they are called! Now I know they are redbuds or Judas trees. We do have them here, though not quite so many as other trees. Ours bloomed earlier in the spring around the time of my tulip magnolia. I love them and have wondered what they were called.

    Gorgeous! I wish we had more here.

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  5. They're gorgeous, aren't they? Yes, we have them ,too (Ohio) and they're in full bloom right now. Usually they wouldn't be yet, but we've had an early spring. Lovely photos. Thanks for sharing!
    Cindy

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  6. How beautiful...this is definately the time of year to see all of the georgous blooming trees. Just lovely.

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  7. These trees and the tulip tree are my favorites. Both so lovely when in bloom. You had a very pretty and nice post for today. Enjoyed visiting.

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  8. I love a Redbud Tree. Your pictures are beautiful and make me think of my mother in law who had one in her yard for so many years. She and I would love to walk around her yard and look at the flowers and the trees first bloomin in the Spring and that would usually be a Redbud...thanks for the beauty and the memories.
    Dolly

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  9. Ours are going crazy too...and it seems like the wisteria has just popped overnight...I so love this time of year, but you can have the pollen..just hoping the rains will be calming it down!...Gorgeous pictures...

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  10. Beautiful tree. I'm hoping to plant a couple more trees in our yard this year. I may add a Redbud Tree as yours is gorgeous.

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  11. Beautiful trees, spring is definitely here-enjoy:@)

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  12. Yes, my Redbud tree is blooming - not as huge and beautiful as yours, though. I went into my yard to take photos of flowers the other day and was surprise to see a rather large snake slithering under an azalea bush. I did not get quite as many picture as I had planned - lol!!

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  13. I love Redbud trees and Tulip trees...odd several of us chose trees as the blog topic today! Your photos are enchanting!
    Sandi

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  14. How beautiful Denise! Don't you just love trees! They are gorgeous right now.
    Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  15. I just love Redbuds - and I agree - they're pink! Gorgeous against the blue sky - Thank you for sharing your lovely blog with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. I ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

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